Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital


The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, is a large teaching hospital situated in Exeter, Devon, England. The hospital has two sites, situated in Wonford and Heavitree, Exeter, and is part of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust.
The hospital is used for the clinical training of medical students from the University of Plymouth and the University of Exeter.

History

In the mid-18th century, Alured Clarke, the newly appointed Dean of Exeter who had already helped with the establishment of a cottage hospital in Winchester, proposed the idea of a new hospital in Exeter to local gentlemen. Through their funding, construction of the new hospital in the city centre area of Southernhay was completed and the hospital opened in 1743. In 1899, George V, then the Duke of York, and his wife visited the hospital and granted it permission to use the "Royal" title. Despite the city being regularly subjected to air raids during the Second World War, the hospital escaped damage. In 1948 it became part of the newly formed National Health Service.
The hospital moved to a new building on the Wonford site in 1974. In 1985, the building was found to have concrete cancer. The replacement buildings were built over several phases with the first phase being completed in 1992, the second phase being completed in 1996, the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry opening in 2004 and a new maternity and gynaecology unit, known as the "centre for women's health", opening at Wonford in 2007.

Services

The hospital is a large hospital, which is set across two sites in Wonford and Heavitree.

Notable births

Notable births include: